Freed UAE diplomat back home from Iraq

ABU DHABI, May 31 (Reuters) United Arab Emirates' diplomat Naji al-Noaimi returned home today, a day after he was released by a militant group that had kidnapped him in Iraq.

UAE state media said Noaimi, who was kidnapped in Baghdad on May 16, was received by President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan shortly after landing in Abu Dhabi.

A group calling itself Islam's Banner had claimed the kidnapping and demanded the UAE withdraw its charge d'affaires in Iraq. Charge d'affaires Ali al-Kaabi was later recalled by the UAE to report on the abduction, according to UAE officials.

A UAE official said no ransom had been paid for Noaimi. The kidnappers did not give any details about Noaimi's release, according to Al Jazeera television which said it had received a statement from the group.

The kidnapping and killing of Arab diplomats and embassy workers over the past year by Islamist militants has worsened the already frosty relations between Iraq's US-backed Shi'ite-led government and Sunni-dominated Arab states.

REUTERS SHB BD1728